David Cameron has accepted there may be no change to the EU's treaties to accommodate Britain's demands ahead of a referendum, the BBC understands.
Mr Cameron has instead argued for "irreversible" and "legally binding" guarantees that EU law will be changed at some point in the future, says BBC political editor Nick Robinson.
No 10 said the PM remained committed to "proper, full-on treaty change".
Eurosceptic Tory MP John Redwood said the EU could not be trusted.
"We should never trust what the EU says. They change their mind more often than I change my shirts, which is very often," said Mr Redwood.
But he said he was "less exercised" about the legal structures used by the government to achieve reform.
Mr Cameron's commitment to hold an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU by the end of 2017 meant it was always a possibility that any treaty changes would be enacted at a later date.
'Accepting the inevitable'
The PM attended a European Council summit in Brussels, where he formally set out his renegotiation aims to his EU counterparts.
BBC deputy political editor James Landale said an agreement had been reached that officials could begin looking at the "detail" of the UK's proposals.
Leaving the meeting in the early hours of Friday, Mr Cameron said: "I am delighted that the process of British reform and renegotiation and the referendum we are going to hold - that process is now properly under way.
"People always say to me these things aren't possible, we will never get them done. Once again, we have proved we will get them done."
In January, Mr Cameron said he would be demanding "full-on treaty change" in his negotiations.
Downing Street insisted the prime minister remained committed to that position and would not agree to any deal which was not clear about that.
A No 10 spokesman said the British people would be able to judge this for themselves when they voted in the referendum.
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